This is the second time I have tried to read this book. I did finish it this time, basically because it was on audiobook. I just found it a bit annoying in places and the main character Betty, or Boop as she is called, is a bit whiny. The whole story is just a bit overly dramatic all around for me.

This is a sweet multi-generational tale told in two different timelines about the decisions we make in our youth and how they affect our entire lives. It has a bit of a Dirty Dancing feel to it and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I love stories about granddaughters and grandmothers. I miss my grandmothers so much. I had such extremely close bond with both of mine growing up. The characters are relatable. The story is heartwarming. The book is beautifully written.

Love a tale a family with secrets lurking in the shadows. Boop was a great character and I enjoyed her in both timelines.

This author is new to me. I definitely enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more books by this author. Highly recommend!

The summer of 1951 - Betty is an 18-year-old young lady who has her whole life ahead of her and is working at her grandparents' resort in Michigan. She is smart, beautiful and plans to enter the Miss South Haven pageant prior to heading off to college in New York City. She wants to work in the fashion industry a fashion industry and is in love with a young man at the resort, Abe, who is also planning to go to NYC with her after he graduates. Except things don't go as planned.
Flash forward to 2017. Betty, known now affectionately as Boop, is now 84 and reminisces on her choices she made in her past. Her granddaughter Hannah comes to her for advice as she is facing a difficult life decision which causes Boop to finally reveal long-held secrets in order to help Hannah make the right choice.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, as this was the first I have read by this author. I really got lost in the setting, the characters, and finished the book much quicker than I anticipated! Love lost, love found, choices, family bonds - I loved it all! Great quick summer read!
Thanks to Amy Sue Nathan, Lake Union and NetGalley for the ARC. 4.5 stars!

This novel is set in the 1950s and in the present time period. During the 1950s, Betty lived with her wealthy grandparents. She was expected to behave in a certain way. But she falls for a young man who they don’t want to accept. Now it’s years later during the present time and the past is brought back up. Betty’s granddaughter is visiting. Betty wants to help her granddaughter with her life. But at the same time, her granddaughter will actually help her to deal with her life and what happened back when she was younger.

Amy Sue Nathan a masterful writer that takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions every time you open her books! I sat down and read this in one day! I was so wrapped up in Boops life and her story and how it all just took me away and I love a good beach! Also this cover just brings so much sunshine in a time where we need it the most! Bright just like Amy’s lipsticks 🥰

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is a sweet generational story about the decisions we make when we are younger and how they affect the rest of our life.

This women’s fiction perfectly captured all the nostalgic feels I was expecting, with a story I found delightful. Great character development, and full of family, love and that hope of second chances when we make mistakes.

A bit of a slow burn, this book took a bit for me to really get engaged in it, but a great read overall. Thank you to Netgalley & Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this title in exchange for my personal review.

In 1951, Betty Stern was a beautiful 18 year old young lady with her whole life ahead of her and she wanted to study at Barnard College in New York. She loved fashion, makeup, looking as pretty as the girls did in the glossy magazines and her plan was to be a fashion editor. Betty lived and worked at her grandparents Sterns Summer Resort. Her grandparents had high expectations of her and they wanted her to represent the resort in the local beauty pageant and be crowned Miss South Haven. She wanted to enjoy her final summer before College, she met Abe Barsky, she fell madly in love and she couldn’t resist a man with a dimple in the middle of his chin.

Over six decades later, Betty’s a grandmother herself and everyone uses her nickname and they call her Boop. She still likes to dress nicely, loves to have her nails done and makes sure her lippy compliments her outfit. When her granddaughter Hannah arrives for a visit, Boop is delighted to see her, but she can sense Hannah is troubled and she’s worried about her. This makes Betty reflect and look back on her own life, her teenage dreams, and her first love, what happened to Abe and why did their summer romance end all those years ago?

Betty supported by her childhood friends Doris and Georgia; faces her past and tries to help her granddaughter Hannah as well. The Last Bathing Beauty is a story about how a young Betty was pressured into doing what was expected of her at the time, it wasn’t fair and that you should own all pieces of your life, good or bad. I loved the book, not at all what I expected and five stars from me.

(4.5 Stars rounded up)

A beautifully penned glimpse into the 1950s, readers are first introduced to Betty on her wedding day in a prologue that makes it clear the impending nuptials are anything but a typical celebration. This was a far more emotional read than expected for me. Amy Sue Nathan is a new author to me but I am absolutely going to be reading her backlist.

I typically don't care for books that use POVs to catapult readers from past into the present and then back again. If I didn't like Boop so much, I would have struggled with the book far more. I was so invested in the story that I ended up having to drink a cup of tea every time I picked it up to read to settle my stomach. The tension that builds as the story inches toward the moment when Betty's life changes permanently proved nearly overwhelming for this reader. That inevitable implosion wreaked havoc on my stomach. A whirlwind romance mixed with immense obstacles made a perfect storm for heartache.

While I love 1950s fashion, I know next to nothing about life for women in the 50s and even less about the expectations and lives of Jewish families. The author had me intrigued from the very start, wondering what I would do in a similar situation. I still think about it. The friendship between Betty and her friends was heartwarming as it is realistic. I do wish we had more time with them in the younger year POVs because I enjoyed how comfortable they were with each other, especially in the later years. The day-to-day at the resort definitely intrigued me more than I thought it would! I grew up long after the time of yearly family vacations to giant resorts but the author had me wishing for that experience, both the vacationer side and as an employee.

If you are looking for a historical fiction outside of the war-related stories that will grab you and not let go, I highly recommend The Last Bathing Beauty. A slight bit of domestic tension, an extended glimpse into life in the classic 50s at a resort, but most of all it is a coming-of-age tale that reminds you that things take work and that sometimes it all works out. It has been a few weeks since I finished this book and I still think of and talk about the story with friends and family and bought a final copy for myself. If that isn't an endorsement, I don't know what is.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
**Reviews posted to Blog (Dream Come Review), Goodreads, Bookbub, Barnes & Noble and Amazon

First loves, second chances in a perfect summer read of fantastic historical fiction. 1951 is the year, a Summer camp in the Catskills. Friendship, love, and a thought provoking story will keep you entertained. I loved the Jewish facts about being Kosher, observing Shabbat and it made the visuals of the time and setting very vivid. I really loved this story and it was a great escape.

What a charming read! Delightful beach reading. 1951 is a unique setting and fun to read.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an e-copy of this book.

This was a quick and enjoyable read about an older woman looking back on her youth, first love, and how her family's religion played a big part in the outcome of her life. Her past becomes relevant again because of her granddaughter's issues and that makes the story feel more meaningful. The story-line is fairly typical 1950s stuff, but character development is done well, so I care about what happens to them. The Jewish religion does put a slightly different twist on things which was a nice perspective to read about. The author did a lot of research and interviews when writing this book as well which I always appreciate.

This is an engaging character driven novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. A beautifully told story about past regrets, compromises and what is the right path forward.
You will love the characters! My full review will be up later this week! .
.
What are you reading right now? What was your fav book from your March reading? .
.
Book Description: A former beauty queen faces the secrets of her past—for herself and the sake of her family’s future—in a heartfelt novel about fate, choices, and second chances.
Everything seemed possible in the summer of 1951. Back then Betty Stern was an eighteen-year-old knockout working at her grandparents’ lakeside resort. The “Catskills of the Midwest” was the perfect place for Betty to prepare for bigger things. She’d head to college in New York City. Her career as a fashion editor would flourish. But first, she’d enjoy a wondrous last summer at the beach falling deeply in love with an irresistible college boy and competing in the annual Miss South Haven pageant. On the precipice of a well-planned life, Betty’s future was limitless.
Decades later, the choices of that long-ago season still reverberate for Betty, now known as Boop. Especially when her granddaughter comes to her with a dilemma that echoes Boop’s memories of first love, broken hearts, and faraway dreams. It’s time to finally face the past—for the sake of her family and her own happiness. Maybe in reconciling the life she once imagined with the life she’s lived, Boop will discover it’s never too late for a second chance

This is a wonderfully written and heartfelt book. The story takes place over two time periods,1950’s and present day. We meet Betty as she is working for the summer at her grandparent’s summer camp before heading to college in the fall. Along with Betty are her two best friends Georgia and Doris. Present day Betty is reminiscing with her friends and granddaughter about what her life could have been if things had worked out differently that fateful summer long ago. I loved these characters and I really enjoyed this book. The dual timeline worked well and I liked learning Betty’s life story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this Kindle ARC of The Last Bathing Beauty. Even though I wasn't alive during the time period, I am fascinated with the 1950's. The Last Bathing Beauty is set in South Haven, Michigan, at a Jewish summer camp for families and is the story of Betty Stern, granddaughter of the owners of the resort. in 1950, Betty is young, hopeful, full of plans and happy with friendship and her life. She meets her first love, Abe, at the camp - he is a waiter for the summer. Plans for her life at Barnard for college and her goal to become a fashion magazine editor are dashed when something she never could have imagined happens to her and changes her life irrevocably. Sweet and gentle, but not sappy, The Last Bathing Beauty is a great summer read. Even if you weren't around in the 50's, it brings the decade alive. It reminds me of one of my favorite shows on streaming - The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. If you are a fan of Mrs. Maisel, you will thoroughly enjoy this story.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

The novel is set in two different time frames in the same place: South Haven, Michigan, 1951 and 2017. It follows the life of Betty "Boop" Stern, the beautiful and alluring granddaughter of the Stern Resort owners, a highly respected and popular couple of the Jewish community. When Betty falls in love with Abe, a young man, who cannot be called Jewish as his mother is Christian, events are set in motion, which impact Betty's whole life, as the reader learns in the 2017 part.

I really like historical novels and I was really wrapped up in this one. The 1950s as a setting with all their rigid and (to us) nearly undecipherable rules provide a great setting and the condition for the development of Betty's story. To me, it was very interesting to get to know about the Jewish rules and lifestyle during that time and the sophisticated way of vacationing - it felt like a lost world, but it was still highly relatable and evoked a wonderful sense of nostalgia.

I really liked Betty's and Abe's characters as well as Nannie and Zaide. They were all very nicely conceptualized and convincingly represented and also quite complex. I had some issues with Marvel as I struggled to like him throughout the novel. I feel like the novel could have benefited from a more sympathetic view on him.

The plot itself keeps you interested and I especially enjoyed the positive and optimistic perspective on the older ladies. I liked the idea that life still has to offer surprises, friendship and hope, even at that age. I could have done away with the epilogue, though. To me that last chapter diminished the value of the novel's message as it was too sugar-coated and too predictable. Sometimes it's better to not provide too much closure.

The writing was very good: I learned so many Yiddish words and the style of writing fitted the narrative and the time frame perfectly.